UK general election endorsement

                                               

On Thursday, Britain will go to the polls to choose a new Parliament and – perhaps – Prime Minister and government. After the disastrous vote to exit the European Union last year – which, in my view, infused life into the populist campaign of Donald Trump in America and to nationalist populism across the West –, Britons find themselves having to choose among two prime ministerial candidates and parties who...

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Our endorsement for the Australian general election

 

Australians go to the polls on Saturday to choose a new Parliament and to decide whether Liberal Malcolm Turnbull remains Primer Minister or Labor’s Bill Shorten moves into The Lodge. Even though Australia is a parliamentary democracy and voters choose Members of Parliament and Senators rather than a Prime Minister directly, our endorsement decision on which party or parties to support is based on who will end up being Prime Minister. ...

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Our endorsement for Spain’s general election

Spanish citizens go to the polls on Sunday to choose a new Parliament in a much better economic environment than when they last voted four years ago. The economy is growing at 3% and unemployment is falling, although slowly. Yet no one expects any party to win an overall majority. Most polls show the governing conservative Popular Party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy slightly ahead, while the race for the second place is unclear.

While we bel...

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More than an endorsement, our view on the Canadian election

 

After almost a decade at the helm of Canada’s federal government, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is fighting to remain in power in one of the closest electoral races in many years. On Monday, October 19^th, Canadians will finally decide if they want a fourth consecutive Conservative administration or a new government. We have been struggling with our choice for this election for many weeks and are still not very sure...

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Our endorsement for the UK general election

After five years of a coalition government that many thought was not going to last much in office, Britain is going to the polls on Thursday to decide whether Prime Minister David Cameron will get a chance to continue in power –either alone or in a continued coalition– or not. It seems all but certain that the country will have its second hung parliament in a row, an astonishing sea change in British politics, which used to be dominated by a Co...

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Swedes go to the polls tomorrow to choose a new Parliament. After eight years in power, the liberal center-right Alliance (Alliansen) is in danger of being thrown out of power by the Social Democrats and their leftist allies. This would be a regrettable outcome for one of the world's success stories of the last decade.   

Looking at Sweden's record during the last eight years, one could argue --especially from a liberal perspective-- that that i...
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Euro citizens should vote to defend what has made Europe prosperous

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(And those who think it’s impossible to praise them both at the same time are just plain hypocrites)

Twenty thirteen is leaving us behind but before we say goodbye, it’s time to remember the two giants that went away during it. Perhaps two of the most influential political leaders of the twentieth century and certainly two of the most influential freedom fighters the world has ever known left us during this year: Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela. Some will say it’s impossible to co...

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Our endorsement for the German federal election

Germans will decide on Sunday if they want to keep Angela Merkel as their chancellor after eight years in power. According to polls, an overwhelming majority of voters – around 60% – prefer Merkel as chancellor rather than her Social Democratic challenger Peer Steinbrück. It is not difficult to see why. Unlike most of its Euro-zone neighbours, the German economy is doing pretty well. Unemployment is at a two-decade low, investor confidence...

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Our endorsement for Norway’s general election

Norwegians go to the polls on Monday to choose a new Parliament and all polls are predicting defeat for the current centre-left coalition of Labour, the Socialist Left and the Centre Party. The Conservative Party leader, Erna Solberg, looks all but certain to become Norway’s next prime minister in a non-socialist government. We welcome this change.

Ms Solberg leads a pragmatic, centre-right Conservative Party (Høyre) with a liberal programm...

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Few political figures in Britain have provoked such strong reactions –both positive and negative– as former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. There are times when confrontation in a country’s political process is required to generate needed change, whereas in other occasions compromise is the more convenient path. The former certainly describes the times in which Margaret Thatcher took the reins of power as the first female Prime Minister of a...

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Our choice in Eastleigh 

While we don’t tend to make endorsements on by-elections and other minor elections, we have decided to express our view regarding tomorrow’s Eastleigh by-election in the United Kingdom. Unlike other by-elections, this one could have a bigger impact on British politics, the future of the Liberal-Conservative Coalition and the future of both, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.      

It is no surprise by now that we like the current Coalition Governmen...

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Our endorsement for the Venezuelan presidential election

 

Venezuelans go to the polls on Sunday to choose between six more years of ‘chavismo’ or a new beginning. After years of non-competitive presidential elections since Hugo Chávez came to power, this is the first time an opposition candidate has a real chance to defeat the South American autocrat and his authoritarian regime. Chávez’s challenger, Henrique Capriles Radonski, was selected as the presidential candidate of the Demo...

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Our endorsements for Thursday’s London mayor and local elections in Britain

 

On Thursday, Londoners will go to the polls to choose a new mayor (or to re-elect the current occupant of City Hall). Judging by his record during the last four years –and taking into account that, in reality, this is a two-way contest–, we believe the Conservative Boris Johnson deserves another term as Mayor of London. Despite his sometimes mercurial personality, Mr Johnson has proved to be a good mayor. We...

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Our endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination

 

The 2012 American election season has begun. Whereas President Barack Obama has no serious contender for the Democratic nomination, the Republican Party has a field of six contenders (after Michelle Bachmann and Herman Cain dropped out of the race) who are fighting to carry the torch of America’s “conservative” party. While the policies of today’s Republican Party are usually at odds with the liberal philosophy (liberal,...

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The dissolution of the Civic Coalition

The 2011 Argentine general election that took place on October 23^rd had a significant impact on the political system of this Southern Hemisphere country. The most obvious one was the resounding victory of Cristina Kirchner, who was re-elected with 54% of the vote. Her “Front for Victory” –a political alliance that, at its beginning included members of the always ideologically unpredictable Peronist Party, some members of the Radical Civic Union an...

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Our endorsement for today's Danish general election

Danes go to the polls today to choose a new Parliament and a new government.  While the current Liberal-Conservative administration has some good results to show on the economy, its policies on immigration and other social issues –highly influenced by the far-right Danish People’s Party, on which support the current government depends– have been disappointing to say the least.

We strongly believe in the importance of a balanced rep...

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Our endorsement for the AV referendum in the United Kingdom

On Thursday, Britain will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum to replace the “First-past-the-post” electoral system for the so-called “Alternative Vote” system. Much has been said about both systems and their positive and negative aspects. We believe FPTP is a relic of the past, an unfair system that punishes smaller parties –including the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and UKIP– and gives disproportionate ...

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Our endorsement for the Canadian federal election.  

Canadians will go to the polls on May 2^nd to choose a new Parliament.  If we have to choose one word to describe the nature of this election campaign, that word would be disappointing. It was a campaign plagued with negative attacks coming from all sides and all parties, except the Greens, who were undemocratically excluded from the televised leaders’ debates. Crucial issues like climate change were totally avoided by the big parties, wh...

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Our endorsement for the Swedish general election 2010

 

On Sunday, 19^th September, Swedes will elect a new Parliament and with it a new governing coalition. As one of the world’s most developed countries (if not THE most developed), we have a special interest in endorsing the political party and the coalition that, we believe, will keep Sweden as an example of equitable economic and social progress.  

During the last four years, the governing centre-right Alliance coalition –composed...

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We choose the best option for Australia. We choose the Greens.

For many years, Australia has caught the imagination of the entire world in different ways. Whether for its amazing natural beauty, the kindness of its multicultural society or its highly developed economy, Australia is one of those hard-to-forget places in the world.  Now, what does this have to do with politics and, particularly, liberalism? In many ways, Australia is an example of liberalism. The country’s econo...

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On Wednesday, June 9^th, Dutch voters will go the polls to choose a new Parliament. As one of the most progressive and liberal societies in the world, the decision the Netherlands makes today is very important for those of us who care about liberty, openness and human rights. While we believe Dutch voters will, in the end, make a wise choice, there are threats to the values liberals so deeply care about. In this occasion, the major threat comes from the extremist and xenophobic PVV –also (...

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Our endorsement for the UK general election 2010

We are in the final days of what has –unexpectedly but fortunately- become the most unpredictable and exciting election campaign in the United Kingdom in decades. Among the most important features of this campaign season is the excitement that the election has produced on British voters. According to different sources, turnout in this election could be as high as it was in 1997, when more than seventy per cent of voters went to the polls to ...

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German voters are set to choose a new Parliament and, with it, a new governing coalition for the next four years. When analyzing our political endorsement –and due to the nature of the German political system-, RealLibs.com decided to make two endorsements: the first one, to choose our preferred political party and leader; the second one, to choose which kind of governing coalition we’d like to see. ?

 

The first endorsement shouldn’t be too difficult to guess. As our name indicates, am...

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By Alejandro Honeker

Germany prepares to choose a new Parliament on Sunday and, according to the latest polls, anything could happen. First of all, let’s mention this (believe me, it’s going to be easier later on): Black = Christian Democrats (CDU) --or, more exactly, CDU+CSU--, red = Social Democrats (SPD), yellow = liberals (FDP), and green equals, well, green. Since no party is considering a coalition with the far-left Left Party, we’ll leave it out of the equation. In order to form g...

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 UK Bellow the video of Nick Clegg's speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth, plus a LibDem video:

 Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats

 Liberal Democrats and Political Change



LibDems.org.uk   A Fresh Start for Britain  
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 UK   Tuesday's highlights:

 Baroness Scott

 Shami Chakrabarti 

 
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 UK  The Liberal Democrat Conference on Tuesday backed the party's programme for the upcoming general election titled "A Fresh Start for Britain: Choosing a Different, Better Future." The main policy items present in the plan are: 

- Investing in green jobs and fighting climate change
- Cutting taxes for people on low and middle incomes, funded by closing loopholes for the wealthy and green taxes
- Breaking up the banks to prevent them taking risks which threaten the whole economy
- Investing in ...
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 Canada  Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, shared the party's plans for the economy with the Toronto Board of Trade


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 UK  Monday's videos from the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference 2009:

 Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable

 Lib Dem Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather 

 Prof. Noreena Hertz
 World renowned economist, feminist and environmentalist


Follow the latest news on Twitter @LibDemConf & @realLibs

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Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, delivered his speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference on Sunday. "Britain needs to rediscover a foreign policy based on principles. And we should start with the principle of international law. So a full inquiry into all allegations of British complicity in torture and state kidnap. No more dodgy arms deals with the Libyans, the Saudis or anyone else. And, above all, no more Iraqs," Davey said.

Read the full speech here
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The document, published by the UK think tank DEMOS, outlines the Liberal Democrat Leader's thoughts on the future of progressive politics in Britain.

A PDF of the pamphlet can be downloaded here

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The Free Democratic Party (FDP), Germany's liberal political party, has launched its latest internet ad highligthing the party's central motto for the upcoming federal election: "Strengthening the middle." . The FDP has seen its poll numbers go up in the last months due to the public's dissatisfaction with the two major parties, the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, which have been governing Germany in an odd 'grand coalition' since 2005. According to the latest polls, The FDP -wh...

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 UK  The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, affirmed on Friday that the Labour government is no longer able to govern and that it's "finished." Clegg echoed David Cameron's call for a general election. Regarding the Lib Dems' take over of the Bristol City Council, Clegg said now the Lib Dems have majorities in almost every big city in the country and that this is "a sign of things to come."


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Tomorrow, the future of Europe is at stake. As liberals, we support the efforts to make Europe an open area, where goods, services, capitals and people can move freely and safely. We believe that Europe and the United States are the guardians of liberty in the world. To keep it that way, it is essential to advance liberalism in the European Parliament. For this reason, we endorse the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and its respective member political parties. 

To find out whi...
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Our endorsement for the UK Local and European elections

On Thursday, June 4^th, Britons will go to the polls to choose their representatives for the European Parliament as well as local councilors. In deciding our endorsement, we asked ourselves two main questions: Which party has shown a pragmatic and solutions-oriented approach to governing? And finally, which party has consistently stood up for the principles and values of liberalism? Our answer to both questions was very easy: only the Lib...

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Watch the first TV broadcasts from the UK Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives for the upcoming June elections:
  First 2 Lib Dem broadcasts:

www.libdems.org.uk

First Conservative broadcast:

www.conservatives.com
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The Liberal Convention in Vancouver, Canada,  chose yesterday the Liberal party's new leader, Michael Ignatieff, who will carry the party's banner in the next election. Here comes Ignatieff's introductory video and his speech before the Convention:

[realLibs.com considers the Liberal Party as the true voice of Liberalism in Canada | For more information visit www.Liberal.ca] 

Michael's Convention Speech from Liberal on Vimeo.

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Today, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage passed a decade ago by the state legislature violates the notion of equal protection under the law and, therefore, is unconstitutional. With this decision, Iowa becomes the third state in the nation (after Massachusetts and Connecticut), but, most importantly, the first mid-western state to legalize same-sex civil marriages. This is a very important victory for gay rights activists in a not necessarily liberal s...
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Welcome to realLibs.com, the place for real Liberals from around the world. If you believe in free minds, free markets, individual liberty, social inclusion, internationalism and tolerance you are welcome to join us! If you don't, you are also welcome to debate our ideas. After all, that's a really liberal thing to do! 
You can find links to news of interest for liberals from different news outlets, both from the US and the world. You can also find our opinion on current topics and policies in...

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